1) Who are you, who is in the band, who does what in the studio and on stage?
Andrew and Stephen otherwise known as ‘Thirty Three Connection’ are local boys both from Edinburgh, Andrew – Lead Vocals/Drums, Stephen – Vocals/Piano
2) How long have you been writing and performing in this way?
Just over 2 years following a long period of talk and no action. We feel that after being in a few bands previous that we’ve finally found the sound we’re looking for.
3) How exactly do you work / write / record?
We used to live together where most of our early writing originates from. We start writing through an idea where Stephen works on through his piano, or I use a drum pattern I’ve been working on and more recently I try vocal melodies and bring everything together. We have recorded our singles past and present at Verden Studios and more recently The Depot Studios.
4) How do you feel your studio/recording style informs the way you perform your music live (or vice versa)? Does it make it easier or harder, better etc…?
We are still in the early stages of bringing our live sound/presence to our recordings. It’s a fine balance finding the
middle ground between live and recorded sound. We feel at the moment the sound we want to be known for is the energetic side from our live performances which doesn’t quite come through on our singles just yet.
It’s a process we are well aware of and are ready to work on when it comes to recording again.
5) What’s been happening lately and what’s new with you?
Early this year we released our singles with the idea to release 2 songs at the same time. An A-side and B-side in the digital sense and take in feedback from the music industry which we could gauge what areas we need to work on more and which areas stand out for us! Both ‘Time and Time Again’ and ‘Heart In The Clouds’ were released in January which have been received well with feedback such as:
Scots Whay Hae! – “…these are two pieces of classic power pop driven by wonderful piano instead of the more usual guitar, and which puts me in mind of Tears For Fears amongst other things. I love this sort of thing, and I hope you do to.”
Alternativetracks.com – ” Thirty Three Connection are indie-duo Stephen Gillon and Andrew Brannen from Edinburgh and this is one of two excellent tracks they have just released. Infused with a stirring piano-driven melody, the duo marry an emotive vocal with soaring harmonies to make a wonderfully distinctive sound.”
Here’s a link to our singles which are also available on iTunes and Spotify.
After playing a gig at The Electric Circus early last year we received a tweet from Scottish author Ian Rankin saying “Really
enjoyed your set. Heading to iTunes.” To say it was a good message to wake up to is an under-statement! We have taken all of the positive feedback from these releases onboard and now we’re looking to share our music with as many people and play as many gigs/festivals as we can in preparation for more recording late this year.
6) When was the last time you played Edinburgh (and where)? What do you remember about that experience?
We played a new venue on Lothian Road called ‘Velveteen’ a couple of weeks ago in preparation for our gig at ‘Limbo’ Until recently it was a strip club so playing there was an experience in itself! Having a pole behind us while playing was a tad surreal. Ended up a great gig and our music was received well. Our set was also accompanied by a light show from the lasers installed by the previous owners. Time travelling back to an 80’s disco with dancefloor included will not be forgotten.
7) If you’ve played Limbo before, what did you like/rate about the experience? If you’ve not played Limbo before, what have you heard about it?
We have heard from many people about the long and thriving history of ‘Limbo’ and what a credit it has been to the Edinburgh music scene. We are privileged to finally play for ‘Limbo’ at such a brilliant and prestigious venue such as ‘The Voodoo Rooms’ It’s a bonus that we are supporting someone whose music we have admired for a long time.
8) What’s next, coming up after this gig, for you and what are you generally looking forward to right now…?
The future for ‘Thirty Three Connection’ is to play as many gigs/festivals as we can. We have a few things lined up that we’re
very excited about but, surprises are best kept that way till the right moment. To keep up to speed with goings on feel free to follow us on twitter and facebook.
9) If you have any other passions/opinions you’d like to share, if there’s anything else you feel strongly about, pls feel free to tell us about it here…?
We both feel very strongly about thriving Scottish music scene that needs promoters such as ‘Limbo’ to keep it alive and well. Especially the Edinburgh music scene that doesn’t get enough credit where credits due. We wish that there wasn’t as much ego and animosity between the Glasgow music scene and others. Everyone should be working towards a better Scottish music scene as a whole rather than competing against each other. We speak more about our feelings towards this with Ravechild in Glasgow here.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and we’ll see you at Voodoo Rooms on Saturday!
Andrew and Stephen (Thirty Three Connection)
